Among Nintendo fans, there has been dispute as to whether Mario was telling Yoshi to get something or smacking the character in the head. According to Nintendo, Mario was originally punching Yoshi, causing the character’s tongue to shoot out in surprise.

For example, a few years back website Supper Mario Broth tried to disprove the Mario-is-punching-Yoshi theory with the images below, explaining that “Yoshi contorts his face before Mario’s hand overlaps his head” and that “official art suggests Mario is simply pointing forward to show Yoshi what to lick.”

In a recent interview on Nintendo’s official site, longtime developers Takashi Tezuka and Shigefumi Hino talked about the creation of Super Mario World and Yoshi.

According to Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto said he wanted Mario to ride a horse. “I think he likes horses,” Tezuka added. “When we were making [Super Mario Bros. 3], he drew a picture of Mario riding a horse and had put it up on wall next to where he sits. When I saw that, I thought, ‘I guess he wants Mario to ride something.’ So, when we were making Super Mario World, we had this ‘dinosaur land’ concept, and I had Hino draw reptile type art.”

“Initially,” Hino said, “the keyword that I had was ‘horse,’ so I imagined something quite later and, for the time being, drew a large lizard type creature.”

“It looked like a crocodile,” explained Tezuka, who felt like a reptile-looking creature might seem out of place in Mario. Tezuka drew a rough sketch of a cute character and on the basis of that, Hino created Yoshi.

“Lots of people think that while Mario is pointing his finger foreward, he’s saying ‘Go,’ and Yoshi’s tongue comes out,” said Hino. “However, the set up that I drew was that when Mario punches Yoshi in the head, the character’s tongue shoots out in surprise.”

“What’s more,” Hino continued, “there’s an added ‘bop’ sound. However, it seemed like people would say ‘Poor Yoshi,’ so that’s why it became that Mario is saying ‘Go.’”

This explains why the official line is that Mario is telling Yoshi to go or get something, but the original art shows Mario smacking the character in the head.

...I mean, how many turtles had Mario stomped and/or fireballed to death by the time SMW hit?

That was pretty much what I was thinking the whole time I started with this thread. He could just avoid them, but no. He stomps on them. Sure, they say they're part of the koopa troupe and that they're enemy combatants. But that could all be lazily dressed propaganda.

I muttered 'light as a board, stiff as a feather' for 2 days straight and now I've ascended, ;aughing at olympus and zeus is crying

^^Maybe they were just defeated, not killed. It's more appealing, right-----------showing the bad guys running off, a little the worse for wear, scorched and black-eyed and band-aided up and all, but alive.

Like, nobody wants to see Popeye kill Bluto. Nobody wants to see Bugs Bunny kill Elmer Fudd. Nobody wants to see the Power Rangers kill Rita Repulsa and then eat her corpse. That'd be odd.

^^Maybe they were just defeated, not killed. It's more appealing, right-----------showing the bad guys running off, a little the worse for wear, scorched and black-eyed and band-aided up and all, but alive.

Like, nobody wants to see Popeye kill Bluto. Nobody wants to see Bugs Bunny kill Elmer Fudd. Nobody wants to see the Power Rangers kill Rita Repulsa and then eat her corpse. That'd be odd.

I don't know, I mean the Power Rangers one definitely rings true. I think that's just what we need to really put the PR to rest properly and give them closure.

I muttered 'light as a board, stiff as a feather' for 2 days straight and now I've ascended, ;aughing at olympus and zeus is crying

'Closure' is an unacceptible justification for murder and cannibalism. Like, if the Rangers decided to kill and eat Rita because they were really hungry, or just for the hell of it, that'd be one thing, but closure? That's sick. Like what do they need closure for, anyway. 'Ugh, I have to beat up bad guys and drive a dinosaur robot around. This is the pits. If only we could just kill and eat Rita Repulsa, then we'd never need to have extremely lighthearted fun superhero adventures ever again.'

^^Maybe they were just defeated, not killed. It's more appealing, right-----------showing the bad guys running off, a little the worse for wear, scorched and black-eyed and band-aided up and all, but alive.

Like, nobody wants to see Popeye kill Bluto. Nobody wants to see Bugs Bunny kill Elmer Fudd. Nobody wants to see the Power Rangers kill Rita Repulsa and then eat her corpse. That'd be odd.

I've always said that the enemies are just badly concussed/injured, sent to hospital (via magic, of course) and then Bowser cruelly sends them right back to the job when they've recovered (hence why when you return to an area, the same enemy was patrolling).

'Closure' is an unacceptible justification for murder and cannibalism. Like, if the Rangers decided to kill and eat Rita because they were really hungry, or just for the hell of it, that'd be one thing, but closure? That's sick. Like what do they need closure for, anyway. 'Ugh, I have to beat up bad guys and drive a dinosaur robot around. This is the pits. If only we could just kill and eat Rita Repulsa, then we'd never need to have extremely lighthearted fun superhero adventures ever again.'

Whoanow, no need to be a joykiller. I'm not saying they should eat everyone. Just, you know, that it would have things sorted and final. Dinosaur robot or not, after awhile you just want to go home. I don't know that you'd be feeling so hot about your work either if the dinosaur dress-up were mandatory. And who are the PR in their off-time? A bad 'Happy Days' knockoff cast by way of 'Captain Planet' diversity propaganda. No glory, no appreciation. They're adrift in the grey waters of mediocrity, and they don't even get paid.

I muttered 'light as a board, stiff as a feather' for 2 days straight and now I've ascended, ;aughing at olympus and zeus is crying